What Does it Look Like Day to Day – Working as an Architect at a Commercial Architect Firm

Having worked on larger scale commercial projects for a couple years now, I thought I would answer some common questions that aspiring younger architects may have regarding projects of this scale and also address what working at a firm that focuses on commercial projects looks like day to day…

What does the typical day look like for a commercial architect? 

It depends on what your experience level is. If you are still in the first 10 years of your career as an architect, you will likely be spending the majority of your day in Revit (or some BIM software nowadays), helping to build the Revit project model or helping to re-adjust/modify it based on weekly coordination call decisions with the Client/Owner and consultants. The Revit model will rarely be stagnant on a typical project, but will be continuously tweaked and modified.  Hopefully you will find yourself invited to these weekly coordination calls with the project team, because they are great learning opportunities, but sometimes, in your first couple years as an architect, you might not even be invited to these calls. The Project Architect in charge would just inform you what needs to be modified in the model weekly. If you do happen to be on these project team calls, pay attention and actively listen… if you hear soemthing that needs to be updated, update that element before your project architect asks you to. This will show that you are paying attention and that you are a proactive architect instead of just reactive.

Once you are more comfortable building Revit families or designing in Sketchup, you will move into more advanced roles like designing building fenestration or an entire brick/curtainwall facade in Sketchup, or building a unique canopy or door family in Revit. Designing and actively presenting design ideas to the Client are usually tasks that are given to architects with 7+ years of experience for commercial projects of this scale, because they have already built up that knowledge and experience.

There are endless details in drawings that need to constantly be touched up on a large scale commercial project. Maybe the columns need to be aligned to what structure is showing, or the floors need to be re-drawn due a drastic exterior wall change last Friday, or the ceilings need to be modeled and shown correctly in your section views. While repetition is common in these projects, it does not mean that you will be bored if you are a proactive architect. That being said, architects do need to react to what the Clients or consultants are telling them, so you can’t always be proactive, sometimes you need to wait and use your listening skills 😉

Do you make more money as an architect at a firm that works on larger scale commercial projects? 

It kind of depends, I can’t speak for all firms and all U.S. states of course. As many of you may know, architects earn different salaries depending on the state that you are living and working in. This can vary sometimes significantly around the country. There are some helpful resources out there that breakdown architect’s average annual salaries per state. Two architects (with less than 10 years experience) with the same exact level of experience can vary on their salary as much as $25,000 annually depending on the state that they are employed in. However, that being said, firms that work on larger commercial projects are often larger firms with a greater number of projects that have a higher billing rate than smaller residential projects since the overall cost of construction is much higher.

So I guess the answer is yes, in general I would say that architects working at a commercial focused Architect firm do tend to have a slighly higher annual salary. These types of firms just tend to have significantly more revenue from projects than a smaller residential focused firm, for instance. Since commercial architects are often paid a % of total construction cost, a higher total construction cost on a project leads to a higher architect fee. A $60 million hotel project at even a 5% fee, is a very different paycheck than 7% fee on a $800K home. These bigger projects also usually run for a longer period of time than single family residential projects, which leads to more consistent, steady billings for the firm over years.

Are the drawings more complicated on large commercial projects compared to single family projects? 

Well, yes and no. Architectural details can be just as complicated on a high-end custom single family project. For a single family custom build you could be designing a complicated canopy with intricate wood soffit or a uniquely shaped ocular window to siding connection and that individual detail could be more complicated than any detail you would work on for a 4-story boutique hotel or 10-story office building.

There is definitely MORE overall drawing sheets on a large $25 million commercial project because you are dealing with more rooms, more elevations, more sections, more enlarged plans, more enlarged RCP’s and more window and door types and On and On…. but that doesn’t necessarily mean they are more complicated drawings. There are just much more of them in the drawing set. The repetition of elements is something that takes getting used, but it is not necessarily a bad thing. Drawing repetition is just more common with commercial projects. Why is repetition so common on these projects you ask? Because repetition leads to decreased overall construction costs and also tends to make the general contractor happy. Repetition on that scale just doesn’t happen with single family projects.

Do you work with more consultants on these bigger commercial projects?

Yes… Yes you do.

This is not necessarily always a good thing. Sometimes it feels like the owner hires too many consultants. And then needs a consultant for his/her consultants. Which often ends up being the architect. It is best when the architect can have the consultants contracted underneath them instead of the consultants contracting directly with the Client, which can lead to extra work for the Architect firm that they are not paid for. The Architect on the project generally has to coordinate with all the consultants in order to get the project to turn out the best possible way, and the Architect has more control with this coordination when the consultants are contracted under them.

Regardless of the contract structuring, the architect typically acts as the orchestrator for the consultants.

What are some of the consultants you typically work with?

• Civil Engineer
• Structural Engineer
• Landscape Architect
• MEP Engineer
• Interior Designer/s – sometimes multiple firms
• Lighting Designer/s
• Food Service Consultant
• Code Consultant
• Acoustical Consultant
• Accessibility Consultant
• IT Consultant
• Building Envelope Consultant
• Security Consultant
• Among others… I am sure I am forgetting a few..

Are any of these consultants more frustrating to work with than others?

Maybe…. ughh but I can’t say. I want to keep my head above the fray 😉

How many projects does a commercial architect (individual) work on at any given time?

This really depends on the firm you are working for, but I would say 2 different projects at any given time – is common for most individuals and can be handled adequately. Not alone of course. You have a small team within the firm working together towards a common goal – or goals would be more accurate.

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Written: Study Warrior Staff

 Nick